Superman #1 Cover Printers Plate Info

[aardvark88]

They look older than the circa 1977 DC Famous First Edition reprints of Superman 1, All-Star 3, Whiz 1, etc:

 

 

 

[Bronty]

A couple important GA comics, a pulp, decoder rings.... this is fodder for a book on collectibles

 

That Buck Jones western image is a movie poster which can be seen here:

 

http://books.google.ca/books?id=sew_TAfeW3AC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=buck+jones+silver+spurs+%22movie+poster%22+original+sale&source=bl&ots=Sp7OrdieUw&sig=1wI_DM6x9Q3mp7diwznMPPNJI8Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gDTMUJTdA4HoiwKPyYGIBw&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=buck%20jones%20silver%20spurs%20%22movie%20poster%22%20original%20sale&f=false

 

Its supposed to be 41" tall, which that plate certainly does not appear to be.

[Bronty]

Some of the plates are pretty obviously camera shots from actual printed comics. You can see the characteristics of a photograph of an actual book.

 

 

I was too unsure to mention it previously, but I kind of thought so even on the supes 1. I think the color differential on the right hand edge is the other pages of the book poking out past the cover.

[lb jefferies]

And the other images show definite wear (on the actual comic book that was shot) so it looks to me like Bronty was right - a larger book showcasing scans of golden age books.

[haikutoo-migration]

I mentioned previously that the "64" is not part of the plate. The "64" is printed on plastic sheet holding the print. I don't know if that number is even related to the plate. All of them are a bit smaller than an average comic book. I don't see how they might of been in Black and White because as I have already mentioned,the two Superman's each have a different color of ink residue.

 

Is it remotely possible to think that these might have been used as an alternative process-maybe they didn't work out and the plates were just put away into storage.

I mean the storage box was about 60 or 70 years old. Believe me, I had to wear gloves when pulling everything out-it was filthy.

 

I want to know how they ended up here. There were no other plates like this in the thousands that we found. I asked my friend who had worked at the book press, if he knew anything about these plates.

Evidently, it was the only press at the time using this type of process. They switched over to copper in the mid 40s.

[Bronty]

I understand wanting to hang on to hope when we are talking superman 1, but Dice is extremely knowledgeable from past comments of his that I've seen and he is telling you there is no chance. There are five or ten reasons why it couldnt or shouldnt be the original plates and meanwhile the evidence "for" is that they look really old and were in an old box? Are you suggesting that you can tell the difference between 50 years of dust and 70 years of dust?

[DiceX]

If they're "slightly smaller," I think you have the answer right there.

I'll say with 100% certainty that this plate had nothing to do with the printing of Superman #1.